Great Wolf Lodge

 John decided this year to not have a birthday party with his friends.  Daddy and I offered to take him on an adventure in lieu of having a party.  We planned a surprise trip to Great Wolf Lodge.  John is a lot like Daddy and hates surprises.  So he requested a few clues to help him guess our destination.  We told him: 1) it was some where we have never been, 2) we would need a bathing suit, 3) it would take awhile to get there, 4) we would have to pack.  John guessed right away.  He said "I think Great Wolf Lodge. Cause we never been there and you need a bathing suit.  Daddy said we would be a pack, and wolves live in a pack!"  I was shocked.  I didn't know he had heard of Great Wolf Lodge (GWL) before.  I asked him how he knew of that place.  He said "I heard it on the radio."  I tried to play it off like I had never heard of GWL.  He didn't give it up.  Any time we talked about his birthday adventure, he would mention GWL.

We left on Thursday and headed to GWL.  As we pulled in the lot, John immediately said "I knew it!"  

At check in, John received wolf ears with a built in birthday hat.  He also got a special wristband that said he was a birthday boy and he was able to get free ice cream for our entire stay.  I was worried that the ears would cause drama with Gillian, but she didn't care.  And John actually let her wear them too!

We scoped out the lodge and set the kids up to play MagiQuest. MagiQuest is an interactive game played throughout the hotel. To play you need a special wand. Gillian chose a pink wand with a unicorn topper and John had a brown wand with a red dragon topper. 

Then we hit up the water park. We checked out the pools, the kiddie slides, the lazy river and then headed to the big slide. Gillian was just tall enough to go on the big slides with a parent of course. We read all the signs and headed up to the slides. As we approached the platform, I realized that we were in line for a big slide with what we like to call "a toilet bowl." I tried to convince the attendant to let us go on another slide. It didn't work. So the kids first big slide spun them around and basically scared them. Gillian hated it. She was so angry at me for taking her on that slide. It took a little while to convince her to go on another slide. But when we did, she fell in love. And that's where we spent majority of the rest of the afternoon. 

We went back to the room for a little bit and the kids were excited to find a tent! It was their own little room with bunk beds and their own TV. 

We played more MagiQuest and ate a late lunch and then headed back to the water park. We timed that well because while most people were eating dinner we were enjoying short or no lines on all the big slides. John and Daddy checked out a really big slide. All four of us also got to go on one big slide together. 

We watched a show in the lobby. Gillian loved it. John just wanted to get back to MagiQuest. 

The next day we spent more time in the water park and John attempted to finish his MagiQuest. 

We didn't get a lot of photos of our adventure, but I did get this video of the kids and Daddy on one of the water slides.

The Battle Bot

Daddy introduced John to BattleBots.  Since then, John has been designing a Bot in his mind.  Today he drew it out and I got him to describe it for me. 

I love how he took what he learned in the first show and applied it to his bot.  After the video (while I cleaned up the glass he knocked over), John also explained to me "the ultimate weapon."  Basically, the ultimate weapon is when all the bot's weapons activate at the same time.  He is currently working on a name for his bot.  Got to love his imagination. 

Gillian's Preschool Graduation

Gillian's Preschool Graduation was on Tuesday last week.  She was very excited to graduate and was up bright and early that morning.

Daddy and I dropped Gillian off at school and we were able to get front row seats for graduation.  TLC combined the Kindergarten and Preschool Graduations, so there was a lot of kids.  Graduation started with the kid marching in and lining up.  Once everyone was lined up, the kids introduced themselves.  Gillian proudly said her name loud for everyone to hear.

After the graduates introduced themselves, they sang Phil Collins' "On My Way."

Next we said the Pledge of Allegiance, and the kids sang "My Country Tis of Thee."  The graduates then sang "Over the Rainbow."

The Kindergarten kids also read "Pete the Cat" while the Preschool class said the refrain.  I didn't get video of that, but the kids did an awesome job!  After the story, it was time to present the diplomas. 

Gillian accepted her diploma proudly.  She also went back in line and clapped for each and every one of her classmates.  Then the kids recited a poem and then they sang "The World is a Rainbow."

They finished off the graduation by singing "It's a Small World."  And we also got to watch a slideshow of pictures from this past year. It's amazing to see how much they have grown.

I'm so proud of our little girl.  She is going to do awesome in Kindergarten next year!

Pierced Ears

Gillian graduated from Preschool today.  To celebrate, we decided to take her to get her ears pierced.  Well, I wanted to get her ears pierced.  She was a little nervous about it, but felt better when I told her that I would get matching earrings. 

She was very brave when we went to the store.  She sat in the chair and picked out her earrings (pink sparkly hearts).  

She waited patiently while we filled out paperwork, figured out the best position for the holes and cleaned her ears. 

Then it was time, she sat up tall. And the lady pierced her first ear. Gillian had no reaction. She just sat there, completely stunned. But when it was time for the next ear she grimaced and a few tears came out. 

Aunt Betty captured the whole thing on video. Don't mind Daddy walking past the camera to check on Gillian. 

She cried for a little bit, and told us that it hurt. I have to say that I am very impressed with how brave and strong she was. There was potential for way more drama. 

Here she is showing off her new earrings. And yes, I am wearing mine too. I promised!

Chocolate Lover

On Sunday, Gillian and I stopped at Starbucks to pick up a coffee for Daddy. Gillian insisted on getting a drink too. She decided on a chocolate milk. We waited in line a long time. So she had plenty of time to con me into getting her a chocolate chip cookie too. While we waited for the coffees to be made, Gillian sat and ate her snack. I said "Gillian that's a lot of chocolate!" She told me "I'm a chocolate lover!"

Ice Cream

Last night at dinner, Gillian and John had ice cream for dessert. The waiter brought out these huge sundae glasses full of ice cream. 

John wasn't able to finish his vanilla. But Gillian housed hers. 

And she didn't miss a drop. 

Plus she didn't make a mess!

Sky Zone

Last week John had a birthday party at Sky Zone. Sky Zone is an indoor trampoline park. John and his friends loved it. They started on the main court and jumped like crazy boys. 

 

Then they moved to the Foam Zone. Basically the kids jumped on trampolines into a sea of foam blocks. John loved it in Foam Zone. He spent most of the party here. 

John also attempted to slam dunk a basketball. Well, he attempts. 

Overall John had an awesome time. 



The Riddle

Tonight at dinner, John said "Wanna hear a riddle?" Daddy and I both said "Of course!" John says "What house has no doors and no windows and a star in the middle?" Daddy and I looked at each other. Both of us were clueless. Daddy said "John, I don't know." He said "An apple. Cause when you cut it in half it has a star in the middle." Daddy and I just stared at each other. And then Daddy said "But an apple isn't a house." John didn't miss a beat and said "It is for a worm!"

Shake It Off

We ate dinner outside tonight.  While I was cleaning up, Daddy was playing some music for he kids.  He motioned to me that I should check out Gillian.  "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift was playing.  Gillian was dancing and singing into a straw microphone.

Highlights

John and Gillian both have monthly subscriptions to Highlights. Thankfully they both get their own magazine, because they both want to find the hidden pictures or point out all the wacky things. Plus when they are done, they switch. This morning I found them eating breakfast and checking out their Highlights magazines. 

Monopoly Junior

The kids were given a Monopoly Junior game last weekend. They insisted on playing it right away. The first game we played boys against girls. 

John loved playing. It was a little hard for Gillian but she loved rolling the dice and moving our piece. She gave up about halfway through the game saying "It's really long!" John and Daddy won that game. 

Tuesday morning after breakfast, John asked if we could play again. And we did. He's obsessed. He can tell you how many games we have played and how many times he has beat me. He currently has a game going with Gillian. He is very patient with her and is teaching her to count the money. She is learning a lot but does not have the patience to play for too long. 

Painting

We received a bag of hand-me-downs on Friday. The bag had books, Monopoly Junior, a Melissa and Doug paint by number and a Spiderman wallet. John claimed the wallet and Gillian declared the paint by number hers. 

Gillian desperately wanted to paint her project. But with her recital this weekend she didn't get to work on it until Sunday. The paint by number was actually a 3D display with dolphins. Gillian spent Sunday afternoon painting and following the instructions to a tee. She surprised me. I thought she would have done her own thing. 

She worked very hard and after everything dried she helped me glue it together. 

Yesterday morning I found her in the kitchen with her paint brush out again. She said "I missed a spot. But I fixed it!"